Lady of The Forbidden Forest
by ElenoiaReinhart
Summary: There's an urban legend in Shizume City, lies a forest darker than night and cold as ice. It was home to creatures and spirits that were ruled by a fair maiden of ice. Fushimi Saruhiko was one of the people who didn't believe in urban legends. His life changed when he met a woman in white when he was patrolling as informed him that he is the key to someone else's future. SaruXOC
1. First Encounter, Meeting

**_Lady of The Forbidden Forest_**

**_Chapter 1: First Encounter, Meeting_**

_There is an urban legend in Shizume City._

_On the far northern part of Shizume City, resides a forest dark like night where trees grew high almost like brushing its leaves to the moon, ice cold no matter what season it is. In that very forest, many strange creatures live there. Residents that lived around the area noticed sightings of the creatures and Ayakashi. Some are short, some are big. Some had wings, some had furs, and some had scales. Some are aggressive, some are gentle. Ayakashi, in the Japanese folklore, are spirits believed by the Japanese that has supernatural powers. These beasts never the type to hurt the civilians, despite some of their terrifying looks, they are calm creatures. It was as if the creatures were being controlled under someone, by a beautiful maiden of ice._

_A woman with long, ankle-length hair darker than black, eyes violet colored amethyst and always wore a traditional kimono. She is said to be a beautiful woman who lived beneath this woods, a fair maiden that rides a silver scaled horse known to be a Silver Kirin, she is a woman whose smile is colder than ice. Some said that she is the leader of the creatures living beneath in the forest, the queen of the beasts. She is believed to live inside the forest, a forest that is restricted to be entered when the night falls. No one who ever went inside the woods during the day ever saw her or her home, the creatures were to lurking in the dark. _

_Some rumors had spread that the woman was indeed residing in the forest, but only when they saw a black and blue swallowtail butterfly they could finally see her and when they are not a normal human. They say that when they heard a faint melody from a flute and a chime from a bell, they believed that those are the signs that the woman was around them, but not showing herself. No one can make out the true reasons why the woman was there, but she is rumored to mean no harm to the citizens of Shizume City, she would let out a voice from the dark to warn them not to come inside the woods. She is like a heroine figure who protects the civilians living around the woods, but not once had ever seen her with their eyes. A frost warrior who yields the power of the ice, some said that when you stared at her eyes too long and angered her, you will die due to frost. _

_That is the urban legend of Shizume City, about The Lady of the Forbidden Forest. _

SCEPTER 4 is an organization that focuses more of the supernatural activities, but it is also part of the police force protecting Shizume City from hazardous incidents. Not only that, SCEPTER 4 is the home base of one of the clans in this very city, the blue clan led by the 4th king, Munakata Reishi. His eyes and ears were all active, from surveillance camera to patrol units; he is never late to hear about information scouted by his men. One of his men who is also his right-hand man, Fushimi Saruhiko is also one of his best assets on gathering information due to his abilities on hacking the system.

The urban legend of Shizume City has been told for more than 10 years but, it is still the hottest topic of the city. People had even created a television show about this urban legend. But, when there are believers, there are also who doesn't believe this urban legend ever existed. Fushimi Saruhiko was one of these non-believers. He thinks that urban legends are just some random stories people created from the figments of their imaginations and dreams, never became a reality. Only fools who actually think urban legends are real, he thought.

But, that point of view is about to change.

About a few days ago, reports said that one of the civilians was attacked by an unknown creature. The man had a few gash marks on his arms; he believed it was some kind of a bird or other flying animal because it happened so fast. Not only that, there was a group of children kidnapped by a mysterious beast with fur. By the time their parents called for the police to find their children, they just appeared out of nowhere at night on their bedroom. The forest that had been known to be peaceful begun to show signs of danger inside, many believed the attackers and kidnappers are from the Forbidden Forest. These incidents made Munakata Reishi intrigued to know that had caused them; he decided to send some of his men to investigate the Forbidden Forest area. By the time the patrol unit took a step inside the woods, a gust of wind from the forest pushed them outside and couldn't get inside even the entrance of the forest. The blue king then decided to isolate the strange woods; only authorized members of the blue clan could pass near the woods but not inside.

"Fushimi-kun, I would like to ask you to patrol and guard the Forbidden Forest from the citizens that try to get inside the forest." Munakata issued a mission to his third-in-command one day, his junior only responded with a click with his tongue in annoyance. "Why do I have to guard the forest when there's surveillance camera around it?" The cobalt haired teenager protested.

"We are concerned with the safety of the people living near the forest, and I would like to gather more data about it." The violet eyed man spoke with his strict tone, pushing his thin-framed glasses upwards to the bridge of his nose. "Tsk, I better get a raise for doing this." The younger mumbled under his breath, he gave his bow and left the SCEPTER 4 premises. Knowing Munakata Reishi, he was that type of person who would stick into every problem that was happening around the city and sent his clansmen to investigate. This annoys Fushimi very much, but it is better than sitting on the desk and finishing paperwork.

By the time he arrived on the scene, Fushimi took a few rounds around the forest. What he noticed around his patrols were just a few people bringing cameras and getting inside the forest, children wanting to play inside the forest, Fushimi managed to make them leave despite how annoyed he is with those type of people who can't read the sign next to the entrance that says, 'Authorized personnel only.' It exhausted him for walking around and looking everywhere, he decided to take a short break by drinking a can of fruit juice from a vending machine not far from the forest. A sudden gust of cold wind gave him a shiver, but he managed to maintain his usual composure and return to the forest area, waiting for his shift to end guarding the area until another of his clansmen arrive to replace him.

Since the woods are always quite dark even in front of the entrance, it was hard to see the surroundings. Electric sapphire eyes landed into a white shadow near the entrance, he suspected someone is also trying to get inside the forest. His pale right hand rests on the handle on his saber on his left hip, ready to draw them as he stepped closer and quietly. His eyes landed on a figure who wears a white kimono, skin and hair white as snow, eyes red darker than blood. The figure was staring in front of the entrance for quite a while until her attention was caught by Saruhiko.

"Ma'am, this area is off limits by citizens. I request you to leave this premise." Fushimi spoke in his professional like voice; she turned towards the teenager, her eyes landed on sapphire ones. Fushimi was drowned by looking at her red eyes. He might say that the woman was around her early 20s, her height was around 173 cm and her hair was tied to a messy bun held by a two-forked pin. Fushimi never had seen that woman since he started patrolling a few years ago, her presence were as thin a thread. Those dark red eyes were empty and cold, as if no life.

"Well now, aren't you also a citizen of this city, men of SCEPTER 4?" The woman made a slight grin, her hands hidden under her kimono's sleeves. "I meant by normal citizens, Ma'am." The man corrected.

"And you are admitting yourself as an abnormal man?" the white haired lady asked again, Fushimi couldn't even dare to click his tongue in front of her. It was as if the woman was a ghost, but she had shadows under her feet so, she is a human. He remained silent; his right hand began to scratch the red tattoo on his left chest due to the itch. "I suppose that you wouldn't like to answer that." She chuckled, covering her mouth with her sleeve. "But still, you are quite a remarkable person. To yield two powers from the red and blue clan, you truly are special." Said the woman, Fushimi slanted his eyebrows and looked at her suspiciously.

"How do you know about my powers?" the cobalt haired questioned her, she just chuckled. "Let's just say I could see through your soul, Fushimi Saruhiko." She spoke; Fushimi then again placed his hand on the handle of his saber. "I wouldn't harm you, calm down. I wouldn't harm the person that might change a part of this city." The last sentence made Saruhiko curious. "Change what?" he asked, the woman then walked past him. "… Changing someone's future." She spoke before she walks away, the teenager tried to stop her.

"We shall meet again soon, Fushimi Saruhiko of SCEPTER 4." Said her voice without her body being seen, a stem of a blue rose was found on the concrete floor. Saruhiko then leaned down to take the flower; he could feel a cold sensation on the petals. The color of the petals were more of a light blue almost to white rather than a total blue-like color, the stem were to also colored light blue. It was as if the flower was a glass rose. He stared at the flower for a few minutes when he noticed his name is being called by a group of men dressed similar like him. There were Akiyama, Hidaka and Enomoto who had just arrived.

"Fushimi-san, we are here to replace you." Akiyama informed, said man then nodded and took the flower on his hand.

"Akiyama, had you seen a woman with a white kimono passing around?" the ex HOMRA member asked to his subordinates. "None of us did saw the woman you are looking for, sir." Said the green-haired man, Fushimi gave a hum and a nod before leaving the area.

On his road returning to his base, his mind was all over the woman he had just seen and he kept staring at the flower the whole day. He was intoxicated by her eyes that were similar to blood. What intrigued him most was her said ability to read his soul and a future that he will change in the future. It made him very curious; a woman he had never seen in his life around Shizume City appeared in front of the most mysterious woods of the city. He tried to find her data from the data base, but no match was found. When he accessed the surveillance camera, he was shocked to know that he was seeing footage of him talking to himself because that woman he was talking to wasn't found recorded on the video.

Fushimi had created a hypothesis on his mind, it was either that woman was a ghost, an ayakashi, a stranger or maybe that urban legend that everyone was talking about. He was actually starting to believe in these stories that weren't supposed to be real.

_**Author Talk!**_

_**This is the first time I wrote a mystery and supernatural fiction, this story is based on one of CLAMP's best selling manga, XXXHolic. The story focuses around the world of the spirits, youkais and ayakashis. I like the manga better than the anime, but just for a little spoiler, the seiyuu of Kimihiro Watanuki who is the protagonist in XXXHolic is the same as Yata Misaki, Fukuyama Jun! Japan is an intriguing country, it's traditional, but it's also mysterious. XXXHolic is very mysterious manga, which is why I made this story with the base of XXXHolic. **_

_**Also, this story will had a companion fic which is called the two-sided Beauty which focuses on Misaki and an OC girl, while this story will focus on Saruhiko and another OC girl. I will make it by the time I'm finished with this.**_


	2. Second Encounter, Sighting

_**Lady of the Forbidden Forest**_

_**Chapter 2: Second Encounter, Sighting**_

After his first encounter with the woman in white, Fushimi has begun to feel strange feelings that occurred around him. He began to feel a chilly breeze from out of nowhere, a mysterious touch on his back and shoulder and what he couldn't believe is that he begin to see a thinly appearance of some creature that he had no idea what he is seeing. The teen was still in doubt to believe what he sees, due to only a partial of appearance that he saw. Most of his subordinates believed in the creatures and spirits after their assignment on standing by the forest. There is one thing that they didn't see, is that they never saw a woman in white appear during their shift.

The next day, Fushimi was assigned on night shift guarding the forest entrance. Being the man he is; he wasn't the type who relies on help. Fushimi was the type who could handle anything alone, not wanting anyone's help. Well, he is quite reliable so the captain gave him privilege to work alone. From Enomoto, he received a tail of an arrow with colorful feathers on it. He had no idea what's it used for that he even tried to throw them away, but the other man insisted him to take it. Placing the arrow next to his knife pocket, he marched to the place he is issued for.

The scenery was different from the last time he was around the woods when the sun was on top of his head, not the moon rules the sky and the Forbidden Forest was looking darker than ever, not to mention the air was getting colder than before. It was hard for him to look around; he decided to light up a ball of blue fire and red fire around him for better vision. After a while walking around, Fushimi smelt a savory scent sniffed to his nose. Luckily, he didn't get dinner after working so much ordered by Lieutenant Awashima; he became quite famished to smell the scent. His dark blue eyes met a small light from a distance; he approached to find a wooden cart that seems to be the source of the scent he smells. Electric blue eyes widen when he saw a small figure of a fox that walks with two legs complete with its fuzzy tail, wearing a kimono and holding a paper lantern on his hands.

"WAH!" The little fox yelped when it saw the cobalt haired teen, running to the back of the cart and then a larger fox than what he saw appeared, this time it wore a pair of round glasses. "Welcome. Oh, it's rare to have a human customer." It spoke with a chuckle. '_Wow, it talks.' _The teenager thought, beginning to believe on ayakashis that he is seeing with his own dark blue eyes. "Come on in, the night around this forest is pretty cold." The taller fox invited Fushimi as he sat on one of the stools there in front of a table with a large pot containing foods.

"… Are you wearing a costume?" the teenager asked, the fox who was behind the pot beginning to cook chuckled. "Nope, it's real." To make the only human there believe, the taller fox flicked its ears and wave its tail left and right. "But you know, I had never seen or served a human since the day I started opening this oden business. It looks like you have a pretty strong power, human." It continued, pouring broth on a bowl and placing some other food on top.

"How do you know about my powers?" Fushimi asked again, it pointed the two flames that were surrounding him. "Only a strong human can yield the power from two clans at the same time, I might say that is you natural gift. If you don't, you wouldn't be seeing me or this shop." It smiled, placing a bowl of udon in front of Saruhiko's table. The cobalt haired teen looked at the food that was served in front of him, admiring the scent that supposedly what he smelt a few minutes ago.

"What's wrong, you don't like oden?" Saruhiko shook his head, taking a pair of chopsticks next to him as he took a bite of his food and was astonished to know that it was delicious. "Not bad." He complimented, starting to dig in on his dinner. Fushimi wasn't a total fan of udon, since there are always vegetables that he despised. But he have to admit, a food made by a fox sure is tasty, especially the fries on top of the oden. As he was enjoying his dinner, Saruhiko felt being stared from his side to find the tinier version of the shop owner hiding, peeking his fox head shyly.

"Oh, sorry I scared you." The human apologized to the little fox that shook its head left and right, looking at Fushimi's pockets with slight want on its face. The chibi fox then ran around childishly with a slight blush and puffy tail. "Looks like he's interested in something on your pocket, young human." The father of the little fox said while it looked at his child running around. Fushimi then dug into his pockets to find the broken arrow, the smaller fox came towards him with twinkle on its eyes.

'_Huh, even ayakashis are attracted on some trash like this.' _Saruhiko thought, he then handed the arrow towards the young fox that made a slight shock. "Here, I don't think I have any use of this, you can keep it if you want." The teenager offered as the little fox placed his palms on either sides of its cheeks. "Really?!"

"Yeah, you can have it." Fushimi cracked a small and rare smile when he saw the small fox took the arrow and yipped happily, rubbing it against its cheeks in affection and replying its gratitude for the gift. "Why, I had never met a human as kind as you are. Consider the arrow as the payment for you dinner, human." The father fox said as he patted his son's head, Fushimi waved his hand in disapproval. "I don't think an arrow is enough to pay my bill, sir." He said politely, the taller fox then gave a small package with cloth covered around it to the sapphire eyed teen. "No, that should be enough. Please deliver this to the woman who is waiting for you." The two foxes gave a bow with their ears also flicking down; they both and their cart vanished to thin air that shocked him.

"I'm not dreaming; am I?" Saruhiko mumbled as he looked around to find the cart and the foxes.

"Looks like you had seen your very first Ayakashi." Said a voice from behind the cobalt haired teen, he turned around to reveal the woman in white. She was in her same attire as the last time he saw her, clad in pure white kimono. "Good evening to you too, Fushimi Saruhiko of SCEPTER 4." She greeted as she took a seat at a nearby park bench, the man followed her suit. It was a rather awkward moment for the both of them; the man looked down on the package he was holding as he remembered what the fox spoke to him, to give it to the person who is waiting for him. "Here," Said Saruhiko, giving the food to the woman who sat next to him. "It's from the Foxes who sells oden." He continued as the woman accepted the food, taking an octopus tentacle's skewer.

"Oh, the Kitsunes. They are very kind, aren't they?" asked the woman as she took a bit of her food, the man next to her gave a small nod.

'_Still, why does the chibi one wants a useless arrow, anyways?' _The boy thought in his mind about the small kitsune who asked for his arrow. "To you, that arrow maybe useless but to that world, it brings good luck." The woman read the man's mind, making him astonished. "How's a broken arrow brings good luck?" He asked with slight annoyance. "That is a Hajaya; an arrow that repels evil." She explained, Fushimi could only open with mouth slightly in awe. Who ever thought, a broken arrow could be a use to the Ayakashi world than the human world. From this, Fushimi was slightly curious about the world of the spirits as he believed there are more than the Kitsunes.

"So, how was your first encounter with an Ayakashi?" the lady in white asked. "Shocking, but it was kind of fun." He replied as he retold what he had experienced the past few days of what he sees. "Sometimes, you don't have to see them because they are always around you, visible or invisible." She said as she finished her last meal of the day. "I haven't seen a spirit of Ayakashi before the day that both of us meet; whose future exactly that I would change in the future?" The teenager asked her about their last meeting, the woman stood up while cleaning up. "Futures will be founded out at the future, as similar as the present will be founded out when the time you go to that present they were referring to." She said before leaving, this time Fushimi managed to catch her wrist to stop her.

"What's your name?" the boy asked as the woman smiled, gently letting go of his grip on her wrist before disappearing into thin air. "You may address me as Yukihime, Fushimi Saruhiko of SCEPTER 4." Her voice could be heard by an echo. Fushimi then gazed at the hand he used to hold Yukihime's hand, her body felt so cold and he didn't even catch a pulse from her.

Could it be… that he is a living corpse?

* * *

_**Author Talk!**_

_**Well, second chapter already released and I'm actually quite happy. Kitsune is a Japanese term for a fox, Yukihime literally means princess of ice. **_

_**Review?**_


	3. Third Encounter, Gift and Warning

_**Lady of the Forbidden Forest**_

_**Chapter 3: Third encounter, Gift and Warning**_

He could still remember that feeling. Her skin that were so cold and nearly had a pulse, eyes empty from emotions and lips curved to a sweet yet sad smile. He even had a thought that she was a living corpse. His heart was reluctant to had business with her, but she was too tempting that caught his attention to know the mysterious woman better than what he had learned now. Her words and moves are too curious to be left alone not to be founded out; her presence was too mysterious to be true.

After his second encounter with the lady in white who addresses herself as Yukihime, Fushimi felt his surroundings made a threat on him. He felt being followed by mysterious eyes that he couldn't even see, sudden attacks that create casualties, he even felt a blob of goo fall on top of his cobalt blue hair when he was going to the restroom. Knowing that this has something to do with those spirits, he decided that he have to ask the woman in white questions during the night at tonight's shift. Some of his subordinates wanted to accompany him to make sure he's okay, Fushimi declined his offer and waited for tonight.

Saruhiko had stood up in front of the entrance of the forest when suddenly he felt an icy breeze that made him cautious, he felt he was being followed and watched by someone. He knew it wasn't human, he felt no human presence other than himself around there. As he held his sword on standby, a sudden gust of wind pass through him and inflicted a slash on his cheek that started to gush out crimson liquid from the wound. Guarding himself, he shouted.

"Who's there, show yourself!" he exclaimed, hoping that someone or something will show up until he heard a rather loud screech from somewhere inside the entrance. He knew the protocol that he isn't allowed to get inside, but it is for the best for the protection of the city and himself. Just as he was about to enter the forest, he felt another gust of wind from the forest and this time, he noticed a dark shadow with wings flying towards him. There was a large black purple colored bat-like animal with a pair of large wings on top another pair of wings that were smaller in size. It had red, shining eyes, 2 horns that grew on top of its head and 2 large fangs on its top jaw and another 2 on the lower jaw. Moreover, it looks very sinister and creepy, slight drool drops from its mouth.

It began to attack Fushimi as he managed to guard the attack with his saber, its fangs caught on the blade. The cobalt haired teen quickly took out one of his knives as it was cloaked with red aura, throwing it to one of its lower wings, hurting it as it screech in agony. Just as he was about to finish the creature of, a long blue arrow came from the inner part of the forest as it hit the creature's chest and instantly killing it. He heard movement of the bushes inside as he tried to look inside but remembered the sign next to the entrance. After a while, he looked towards the bat-like creature that was lying there dead. He cautiously examined the creature when he somehow heard the creature talk.

"… My Queen… I'm sorry…" a raspy voice was heard as the body of the animal began to thin out, brittles of dark matter float onto the sky and disappeared, leaving the blue arrow on the concrete floor. Fushimi felt coldness on the arrow as he suddenly felt it was wet after he touched the arrow and noticed something unique. That blue arrow was actually an ice arrow that were so sharp at the end that managed to kill the creature, but what intrigued him most was the amazing skill of the archer to be able to aim the arrow exactly on its chest when it was dark everywhere.

"What is that animal…?" Fushimi mumbled to himself, he suddenly turned around and pointed his sword to a dark area. "Well now, you were too cautious." Yukihime spoke as she revealed herself from the spot where Saruhiko pointed his sword to, the man then inserted his saber back to its sheathe on his left hip. "Who would have known that a Pixy Devil had been following you, Fushimi?" The woman said as stared at the dark matter that was still floating around.

"What the hell is Pixy Devil?" the man said with a scowl. "That monster you just fought, similar to the bat family that is drawn to the heat emitted by humans and often follows them around. I heard they attack humans and drink their blood as their meal." Yukihime explained. "Apparently, it seems to be attracted to you." She continued as she placed her hands inside the sleeves of her kimono. "Now why does a monster 'attracted' to me?" Fushimi asked back, arms folded in front of his chest. "Who knows, it might be your scent, you blood, or maybe your handsome looks." She chuckled while the man clicked his tongue.

"Any who, I would like to give you something." The woman in white informed as she inserted her hand inside the sleeve of her kimono and started to dig inside, revealing a long pipe with decorative patterns on it. "What's that?" he asked, looking at the pipe as he spins it around to take a closer look.

"Let's just say, that's a good luck charm that would brings a good use to you when you are facing your next ordeal." She said with a small grin, he looked at her with slight confusion.

"… Thanks I guess, Yukihime-san." The man thanked the woman. "How do you know that I am older than yourself, Fushimi-kun?" she asked out of the blue. "Well, you look older than I am." He said shortly, still in confusion of the question. "If you were to guess, how old am I?" Yukihime asked to the cobalt haired man. "I might say early 20s, what is your age?" He asked back, the woman smiled as she turned around, making her back facing Saruhiko. "Some said I am in my early 20s, some said I am in my mid 20s and early 30s. I had to say to myself, I had seen myself far too long than what I wanted." With that she left, leaving another mystery to Saruhiko.

Is she older that he thought she would be? How long has she has been living up till now? 20 years? 30 years?

Or maybe more than 50 years?

Or maybe… 100 years?

Once again, the lady in white left him with another mystery. Also, what is that ordeal that she is talking about? Let's just hope that the pipe would bring to a good use like she said it would be.

And also, who is this Queen that the monster was referring to? The day couldn't get any mysterious than this.

_**Author Talk!  
Pixy Devil is some kind of monster that appeared in a game called 'Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoners.' They are kinda like a bat, but the bigger and more freaky version.**_

_**Thank you for those of you who had given their time to read this story, reviewing, favorite and following. I hope you guys follow this story till the end!**_


	4. Fourth Encounter, Dangerous Hunt

_**Lady of the Forbidden Forest**_

_**Chapter 4: Fourth Encounter, Dangerous Hunt**_

The following day after encountering the Pixy Devil, Fushimi reported the monster towards his boss, Munakata Reishi. It was shocking to know that the blue king actually believed his story when he knew the surveillance camera didn't record what happened during that time, his superior then gave a warning to his other clansmen who patrolled around the Forbidden Forest.

After his report, Fushimi was asked to return back on working some of the paperwork that he hasn't finished out. The cobalt haired man suddenly felt something moving on his pocket, he then took out the pipe that Yukihime gave him last night that was the source of the movement. He was confused on why the pipe was somehow twitching, he decided to open the tip of the pipe, and a rather sharp and furry edge came out. "A brush…?" he thought at first when suddenly, the white edge grows longer and longer that shocked him as the pointy edge gives a peck on Saruhiko's cheek. The furry thing then curled around Fushimi's arm, its head brushing his cheek.

"The hell is this… Are those eyes?!" he exclaimed when he noticed two small dots on the creature's face. The creature was white colored and furry, the end of its tail was furrier and it had small, pointy ears on top of its head. He quickly hid the long animal inside the pipe when suddenly Lieutenant Awashima comes over to him. "Fushimi, what are you yelling about?" the blond woman asked. "… Nothing out of the ordinary, ma'am." Saruhiko replied as he pushed his thick framed glasses up to the bridge of his nose. "I, see… Anyway, The Captain would like to have a word with you." She informed, resulting a click from Fushimi's tongue as he rushed towards his captain's office.

"You said you wanted to see me, Captain?" Said Fushimi as he stood in front of his superior who was busy playing with his jigsaw puzzle on his luxurious office desk, a digital screen float in front of him. It was showing the footage of Fushimi's second night when he encountered the Pixy Devil, he was battling with the monster.

"Fushimi-kun, is this the creature you were referring to on your last report?" The blue king asked with his low and collected voice, the cobalt haired man responded with a nod when he suddenly felt a brushing sensation under his shirt that made him jump a little. "Something wrong, Fushimi-kun?" Munakata asked in concern of his right-hand man, the younger of the two tried to unbutton his shirt to look under it and find out the source of the sensation when suddenly, the little pipe creature popped out. Little did Saruhiko know that he didn't actually hide the snake-like mammal properly when he only pushed the animal inside and not covering it with the lid.

"Fascinating, I didn't know that you were the type to like such creature, Fushimi-kun." The violet eyed man said with a chuckle, Fushimi clicked his tongue as he pulled the white animal out from under his shirt, staring at it. "It was a gift from a friend of mine, sir." He explained. The taller man then stood up and took the animal from Fushimi's hand, taking a closer look.

"Hmm, and who is this 'friend' that you are referring to that manage to give you such gift?" Munakata questioned as he used his finger to tickle the animal's neck, it gave a small yip as it wound its long body to Reishi's arm. "That information is classified, sir. I cannot tell you about my personal life affair, even if you are my superior." Saruhiko said professionally. "Well, I might say this creature is like a fox with a slithering form." The thin framed glasses wearing man spoke, returning said fox to Saruhiko as it wrap around the cobalt haired man's neck and rubs its head on his cheek affectionately. "From where is this thing a fox?" The younger asked; Reishi chuckled while he pointed the creature's fuzzy tail.

"Getting straight to the point, I need you to investigate deeper into the forest. Knowing the circumstances of you being able to find many strange occurrences other than the other clansmen, I would like to ask you to get inside the Forbidden Forest." The blue king explained, Fushimi nods, giving his salute and left his superior's office.

The skies slowly turned darker as Fushimi prepared himself to get inside the dark forest. He was about to went inside when he felt the similar presence of being watch like last time he saw the Pixy Devil monster. Saruhiko took out his saber from its sheathe, remaining his composure. He did a few spin to make sure he was safe until a familiar face appeared in front of him, scaring him that he almost stab the figure in front of him but the long metal was managed to be blocked by a cold and pale hand. "Please refrain on appearing out of nowhere, Yukihime-san." The sapphire eyed man said as he lower his weapon down.

"Nice to see you again, Fushimi-kun. I see you had met with Kuda Kitsune, knowing that he is out from his pipe." The only woman there spoke, inserting her hand inside her sleeves. "What's a Kuda Kitsune?" asked Fushimi, the animal around his neck gave little pecks on his cheek. "Literally means a pipe fox, considering it is a fox and it lives in a pipe. Though small, this fox has a large amount of spiritual powers when it turns into their true form." The woman in white spoke thoroughly. "True form?" Fushimi's question made the woman dressed in her usual white kimono smile slightly.

"You will see it soon enough." It confused him at first, it confused him even more when the fox looked around and its fur were all standing up, it was as if it was aware of a new presence that are lingering around them. A sudden screech was heard that came from the Forbidden Forest, a horde of bat-like animal flew towards them. Most of them are the Pixy Devils and one of them has a similar body shape like the Pixy Devil but, this one is larger and it's colored purple and pink, it could be their leader?

"Looks like a Reaper joins the party." Yukihime said calmly though she is in a rather dangerous situation, Fushimi quickly drew out his saber. "Yukihime-san, please go and find shelter!" The young man exclaimed while he tries to fight the black bat monsters that were trying to attack him, a Pixy Devil flew swiftly and prevented the woman's way. It then shows its fangs and ready to attack Yukihime when the Kuda Kitsune jumped, a flash of light gathers around its body. The light subsided as there reveal a white fox with nine tails and long claws on its front paws, standing in front of the woman as it blast a large fireball to the winged monster, it screeched in pain and burned with red fire. Fushimi was amazed that the small fox could turn into a nine tailed fox with amazing fireball that it could create from its mouth.

The cobalt haired man cloaked his saber with blazing blue aura while his throwing knives were cloaked with raging red aura. The battle was rather vicious, gusts of wind that the Reaper created made cut marks on Saruhiko's uniform which he paid no mind to. The blue clansman fights with all his might, blue and red aura collie together to made a beautiful purple color aura. It was like a blood bath, his saber was cloaked with the Pixy Devils' blood when he sticks his sword on their abdomen. Kuda Kitsune too, gave aid to its master who was into hard time defending himself by tearing the bat monsters' wings off. After a while, their battle seemed to be over when suddenly the leader of the horde sneaks behind Saruhiko and Kuda Kitsune, a similar blue arrow strikes back as it hit the Reaper's wing.

'_Do not touch him, I had business with him.' _A voice spoke out of nowhere when Saruhiko tried to examine the Reaper; he looked around to find out the source of the voice but the results was none. "Yukihime-san, the coast is clear." The man informed the woman who was hiding, she then revealed herself from behind one of the trees. "I had a feeling these Pixy Devils and Reaper are trying to hunt you, Fushimi-kun. They had been stalking you for the past few days, am I correct?" Yukihime said with worry on her tone, she knelt down and touched the lifeless body of their attackers.

Now that he think about it, the strange occurrences that he felt were getting very annoying. He tried to ignore it, but it gives no help when he felt eyes staring on his back all the time. He had believes that his stalker is the Pixy Devils, but it was weird when he founded out that just not that those monsters appeared from the Forbidden Forest when he knew that the Forbidden Forest was a calm and peaceful forest not until too long ago, He do need to get inside the forest to find out. "Any who; bring Kuda Kitsune with you everywhere. He can be very helpful when he lends a hand." She continued as she pats the fox's head. "How am I supposed to bring him everywhere when he is in this huge form of his?" Fushimi asked with an annoyed tone when the fox began to jump on top of him and kissing him all the way.

"Deep inside the forest, there's a waterfall where blue roses and red Lycoris grew around it. The water has enough Ki power to revert Kuda Kitsune back into its small form." Yukihime explained, her presence was growing thin. "How do you know?" the man asked curiously, she smiles anyway. "I knew more about the forest other than you people…" that was the final sentence he heard from Yukihime, another blue rose drop on the last place she stand, this time a red spider lily flower also known as a Lycoris was on top of the rose.

That woman is really a mysterious, she could disappear whenever she like, presence always thin and undetectable. Her data wasn't registered on the government data and she doesn't appear on the surveillance camera footage. She herself is such a mystery, what intrigued him most was she was able to predict the future and gave a spirit to protect him. Who is Yukihime? What is her family name? Why is she unknown to Shizume City? There are a lot of questions that were inside Fushimi's mind, all of those still remains a mystery.

Taking the two flowers with him, Saruhiko let the fox sniff them to find the other similar species of the flowers so they could get to the waterfall faster without getting lost. The Forbidden Forest was sincerely dark and cold, but he knew there are other creatures living there and he didn't want to disturb their peace. By the time they arrived, the man and fox were standing in front of a beautiful waterfall surrounded by the blue roses and red Lycoris. Kuda Kitsune then ran next the flowing water, taking a sip of the water and light gathered around him once again, reverting back to its small form. The cobalt haired man gathered some water from the waterfall in case of emergency; they were surprised to see a small, green deer-like animal with yellow horns and hoofs staring at them. It ran around Fushimi happily as it jumped and took one of his knives with its mouth.

"Hey, come back here!" Fushimi exclaimed as he chase the mischief creature known to be a baby Kirin, running around the field of blue roses and red Lycoris trying to play with the man. The night is still too young for them to end their little tag game when the infant creature called for other of its friends to play and surprisingly, Fushimi didn't feel annoyed by them at all.

_At some other place…_

"Who sent you, Reaper?" spoke a figure with long, black hair. The figure was strangling the bat-like animal, trying to get information. "I… have no reasons… to tell you, woman." The Reaper spoke while panting, the strangle around its neck tighten as her nails becomes a bit longer and a bit sharper. "Look, I have no time to play with you. Tell me who sent you, or you'll die here freezing." She spoke with a snarl; her hand began to emit a cold sensation and began to freeze the Reaper's wings.

"I-it's Lady A-Ahriman! Please, don't kill me!" it screech, but it was useless. The ice spreads fast to its body and freezes it. The black haired woman then pulled out her hand, punching the frozen body in result crushing it, she smirks. "No one tempers the peace of my Forest, no one." She said as she gave a little laugh beneath a white fox mask, disappearing into thin air.

Little she knew, a pair of glasses that hid a pair of eyes hides between the bushes that never stopped lurking around.

* * *

_**Author Talk! **_

_**For everyone to understand, Fushimi isn't too much being the stalker he is to Misaki. I want to focus on Fushimi's and Yukihime's love, please do forgive me. But, he will appear on the side story of the Lady of the Forbidden Forest with I will make when I'm done with this story.**_


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